Reel for motion-picture films



REEL FOR MOTION-PICTURE FILMS Filed May 7, 1947 INVENTORS TREVOR FAULK R BBYLPH D. WHIT'MO ATToR N Y.

Patented July 29, 1952 REEL FOR MOTION-PICTURE FILMS Trevor Faulkner `and Ralph D. llhtmore,V

' New York, N. Y.

Application May 7, 1947, Serial No. 746,448

9 Claims.

This invention relates to reels and more particularly to reels for motion picture lms.

At the present time, in order to remove a nlm from a motion picture reel of the usual construction, for whatever purpose, it is necessary to unwind or uncoil the nlm from the reel. This is obviously time consuming and when many films are handled the expense involved is very considerable.

This invention has for its salient objeci-l to provide a reel for motion picture film so constructed and arranged that the lm can be easily and quickly removed from the reel without unwindmg.

Another object of the invention is to provide a motion picture nlm reel so constructed that one or both of the side plates of the reel can be removed. v Another object of the invention is to provide a motion picture lm reel that is rugged and strong in construction and has removable side plates and releasable means for latching the plates in position.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the following specication taken in connection with the drawings which form a part of this application, and in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a reel constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the reel shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view, partly broken away and partly in section, illustrating the means for attaching one of the side plates to the central supporting disk;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation showing one side plate mounted in operative position on the central supporting disk and the other side plate detached therefrom;

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation taken substantially on line 5-*5 of Figj3, lookingin the direction of the arrows; 'and Fig. 6 is a: sectional elevation taken substantially on line 6-6 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Theembodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings comprises essentially four principal parts, namely, a .hub I6, central supporting disk II, and two sideplates I2 and I3. The hub Il) consists of a casing comprising two halves or sections I4 and vI5 having mounted centrally therein a bearing sleeve I6.` The sections I4 and I5 have inturned flanges I'I and I 8 which are welded or otherwise secured to' the outer ends of the sleeve I6. and these Sections also have outturned flanges I9 and 20 which are Welded or otherwise secured to the outer surfaces of the disk II. The disk II has a central opening which receives the sleeve I6 and laterally eX- tending flanges or lugs 25 which are welded to the outer surface of the sleeve I6.

The disk II has formed thereon at its outer periphery, two sets of latching lugs 26 and 21. These lugs are formed by a plurality of radial slits 23 and a plurality of circumferential slits 29 disposed at the inner ends of the radial slits 28. The lugs 26 and 2'I are formed by bending or forcing the material bordering the slits 28 alternately in opposite directions, the lugs 26 being bent in one direction from the plane of the disk and the lugs 2'I being bent in the other direction, After being bent away from the `plane of the disk, the lugs are bent to a position parallel to the surface or plane of the disk, as shown in Fig. 5. y

The side plates have formed therein central openings 30 adapted to fit around the hub I 0, the Walls of the plates bordering the central openingbeing offset as shown at SI to receive the flanges I9 and 21B. The outer portions of the side plates I2 and I3 are offset to form reel supporting surfaces 32 and 33 and at the outer ends of these surfaces the side plates extend outwardly to form the sides 34 and 35 of the reel support. It will be understood that the surfaces 32 and 33 are dimensioned to conform substantially to the width of the lm to be mounted on the reel.

Each of the side plates has formed therein a series of annularly arranged openings 40 adapted to receive the lugs gli or 2'I and adjacent the openings lill are formed slightly oiset projections 4I. In order toy secure one of the side plates to the supporting disk II, the plate is inserted over the hub I0 in such a position that the lugs 26 or 2l will project through the openings 46 and thereafter the plate is rotated to the position shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 5 so that the lugs will be disposed on the opposite side of the supporting disk. The lugs 26 and 2`I will also engage the oiset projections 4I, thus insuring the tightenglagierlnent of the side plates with the supporting In order to lock the side plates in operative position, each of the side plates has pivotally mounted thereon, a latching lug.v VIn Fig. 6 the lug is shown asv mounted on a pivot 45 4and cornprises a projection 56, a handle portion'll! on one side of the pivot, and a tail 48 on the other side of the pivot 55. The pivot 45 has a head Gaat its inner end and between the 'head andthe-offset portion 50 of the side plate there is positioned a spring 5l which permits a limited axial movement of the latching member on the pivot 45. 'I'he disk Il has slots 52 formed therein and each of the side plates has a slot 53 which is alined with a slot 52 when the side plate is in locked position on the supporting disk H. In order to release the side-plate, the handle 41 is lifted or lpulled away from the surface of the side plate to release the lug 6 from the slots 52 and 53, whereupon the latch can be rotated on its pivot about the tail 48 as the fulcrum to a position in which the lug 4S will rest against the outer surface of the side plate. The side plate can then be rotated in the required direction to release the lugs 26 or 2l from the openings 4B.

It will be evident, therefore, that the side plates can be easily and quickly secured to or removed from the disk I I and thus the film can be easily removed from the reel in coiled condition or without unwinding. The periphery of the reel and of the disk are slotted, as shown at 55 and 56, to receive the end of the lm as it is wound on the reel.

Although one specific embodiment of the invention has been particularly shown and described it will be understood that the invention is capable of modification and that changes in the construction and in the arrangement of the various cooperating parts may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, as expressed in the following claims.

What we claim is:

1. A reel comprisinga central hub, a disk extending outwardly from the periphery of the hub and disposed substantially at the longitudinal center of the hub, oiset lugs arranged annularly on said disk, said lugs comprising two sets disposed respectively in offset relation to the opposite surfaces of the disk, and side plates having annular spaced openings dimensioned to receive said lugs and to coact with the lugs in securing the side plates to the opposite surfaces of the disk.

2. A reel comprising a central hub, a disk extending outwardly from the periphery of the hub and disposed substantially at the longitudinal center of the hub, offset lugs arranged annularly on said disk, said lugs comprising two sets disposed respectively in oiset relation to the opposite surfaces of the disk, side plates having annular spaced openings dimensioned to receive said lugs and to coact with the lugs in securing the side plates to the opposite surfaces of the disk, and releasable latching means for Latching each plate to the disk in locked position thereon.

3. A reel comprising a central hub, a disk extending outwardly from the periphery of the hub and disposed substantially at the longitudinal center of the hub, oiset lugs arranged annularly on said disk, said lugs comprising two sets disposed respectively in ofset relation to the opposite surfaces of the disk, and side plates having annular spaced openings dimensioned to receive said lugs and to coact with the lugs in securing the side platesto the opposite surfaces of the disk, one set of lugs extending in one direction and the other set extending in the opposite direction.

4. A reel comprising a central hub, a disk extending outwardly from the periphery of the hub and disposed substantially at the longitudinal center of the hub, offset lugs arranged annularly on said disk, said lugs comprising two sets disposed respectively in offset relation to and substantially parallel to the opposite surfaces of 4 the disk, and side plates having annular spaced openings dimensioned to receive said lugs and to coact with the lugs in securing the side plates to the opposite surfaces of the disk.

5. A reel comprising a central hub, a disk extending outwardly from the periphery of the hub and disposed'substantially at the longitudinal center of the hub, offset lugs arranged annularly on said disk, said lugs comprising two sets disposed respectively in offset relation to and substantially parallel to the opposite surfaces of the disk, and side plates having annular spaced openings dimensioned to receive said lugs and to coact with the lugs in securing the side plates to the opposite surfaces of the disk, one set of lugs extending in one direction and the other set extending in the opposite direction.

6. A reel comprising a central hub, a disk extending outwardly from the periphery of the hub and disposed substantially at the longitudinal center of the hub, oiiset lugs arranged annularly on said disk,4 said lugs comprising two sets disposed respectively in offset relation to the opposite surfaces of the disk, and a pair of side members, each having a central opening receiving said hub and having an offset cylindrical portion having a width substantially equal to onehalf the width of a ilm to be mounted on the reel, said side members having annular spaced openings dimensioned and located to receive and coact with said lugs in securing the side members to said disk.

7. A reel comprising a central hub, a flat disk extending outwardly from the periphery of the hub and disposed in a plane located substantially at the longitudinal center of the hub, side plates disposed on and engaging the opposite surfaces of said disk and extending outwardly beyond the periphery of the disk, and releasable coacting securing means carried by said side plates and disk and including means formed integral with the disk for independently securing the side plates to said disk, said securing means being movable into securing position by the relative rotation of the plates and disk.

8. A reel comprising a central member, identical side plates disposed on and engaging opposite surfaces of and extending outwardly beyond the periphery of said central member, said plates being flanged at their outer peripheries to form reel supporting surfaces, coasting securing means carried by said side plates and central member and including means disposed annularly and concentrically with respect to the axial center of the central member for independently releasably securing the side plates to said central member, said securing means being movable into securing position by the relative rotation of the plates and disk, and releasable locking means for locking the side plates in secured position.

9. A reel comprising a central hub, a disk extending outwardly from the periphery of the hub and disposed in a plane located substantially at the longitudinal center of the hub, identical side plates disposed on and engaging the opposite surfaces of and extending outwardly beyond the periphery of said disk, said plates being anged at their outer peripheries to form reel supporting surfaces, and releasable coacting securing means carried by said side plates and disk and includingl means disposed annularly and concentrically with respect to the hub axis for independently securing the side plates to said disk, said securing means being movable into securing position by the relative rotation of the plates and disk.

UNITED STATES PATENTS NLunber Name Date TREVOR FAULKNER. 1,077,245 BuSeI Oct. 28, 1913 RALPH D' WHI'IMORE. 1,858,586 Goldberg et al. May 17, 1932 5 2,115,912 Helmond May 3, 1938 R N ED 2,372,424 Ironside Mar. 27, 1945 Th f u EFEE CES CIT f d th FOREIGN PATENTS e o owmg re erences are o recor 1n e file of this patent: 10 Nugegu.) Country Date Great Britain May 1, 1930 

